Murder They Wrote
by Kkarrie
Summary: When a murder rocks the small town of Muscum Falls, Michigan, Mayor Karen Vick decides to hire private investigators Shawn and Juliet Spencer to assist Sheriff Carlton Lassiter in finding out who is responsible. Psych AU fic.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This fic was inspired by all the Murder She Wrote episodes I watched growing up, and the shot from Neil Simon where Shawn and Juliet track down Clive and Barbie. I thought they worked well as a team in that episode and the idea of them running a detective agency really stuck with me. Thanks for reading!

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"Muscum Falls, Michigan. This quaint little town just an hour and a half northwest of Grand Rapids is the perfect picture of Americana. Founded after the Civil War by Union General, Muscum T. Lassiter, this little town has survived through the years. There's nothing really special about the town. The falls are pretty and offer adventure for seasoned hikers, but the town has no real claim to fame. That suits the local sheriff, Carlton Lassiter, just fine. Lassiter would rather be sheriff in a town where people are there because they liked the town, not because they wanted to take a gander at the world's largest ball of twine." Shawn read from the morning's newspaper. "Seriously, when is Lassie gonna update his stock photo with the newspaper? It's been seventeen years since he had a mustache." He flipped the paper around to show Juliet the faded picture of a very young Carlton Lassiter.****

**"**It's a nice article, despite the picture," Juliet reasoned with him as she set a plate of pancakes on the table.****

**"**Nice, yes, but it doesn't talk about the best thing that Muscum Falls has to offer," Shawn protested, putting down the paper and piling pancakes on his plate, layering butter and syrup between each one.****

**"**Not that article, but this one does." Juliet pointed to the other story on the front page. "Spencer and Spencer Single Out Suspect in Arson Case."****

**"**Lassie was so mad about that one," Shawn grinned.****

**"**To be fair, he had the right suspect; he just didn't have any way to prove it," Juliet reminded her husband.****

**"**He's just jealous because I stole you away." Shawn took a bite of pancakes. ****

**"**You didn't steal me away. I decided that solving cases with my husband was more important than becoming the next sheriff of Muscum Falls."****

Shawn smiled around a mouthful of pancakes and gave her hand a squeeze. After he swallowed, he pointed to a third article, "Shame they're selling the museum. I worked hard to find those dinosaur remains."****

**"**You and Gus worked hard," Juliet corrected him, sipping her coffee. "Besides, the museum is staying there, just new owners." She paused. "Which might help, because the last time I was there, the place was a dump."****

**"**That would be because I had the map upside-down and drove to the Muscum Falls Sanitation and Garbage Dump," Shawn teased. ****

**"**Eat your pancakes," Juliet pointed at his plate, fighting to hide her smile, "we have to be to the office by ten."****

**"**We're the only private detective agency in town," Shawn reminded her, "if they can't wait leisurely for us to eat our breakfast at a normal rate then they'll have to go someplace else."****

OoO OoO OoO****

Lassiter threw the newspaper down on his desk as he stalked through the station. "Two bit muckrakers think they can misquote me," he growled as he poured himself a cup of coffee.****

Buzz, his deputy, looked up from his desk and didn't say anything. Lassiter was always like this when the Spencers solved a case; he would rant for the morning and then be back to his usual, less grumpy self after lunch.****

**"**I had the right guy, and if I'd been given another fifteen minutes of peace in interrogation I would have gotten him to crack." Lassiter pointed a finger at McNab. "Next time Spencer wants to ask me a question, you tell him to shove it until I'm done interrogating the suspect."****

McNab nodded dutifully and then changed the subject. "How is Ms. Viccellio doing?" He knew Lassiter always visited the corner store to see Marlowe Vicellio and get his first cup of coffee. The mood he was in combined with the mug of station coffee the sheriff was drinking were a big indication he hadn't been there before work.****

**"**She's fine," Lassiter snapped, sipping his coffee. "At least she was yesterday. She was up visiting her brother this morning." He had felt a little bad about having to arrest Adrian Viccellio, but the kid had pulled a knife on Lassiter after being pulled over for a traffic violation. That combined with the drugs found in his car had put Viccellio away for the next three to five years. But Marlowe understood - at least he hoped she did.****

McNab watched Lassiter have his moment of inner monologue and then coughed softly. The small sound jerked the older man out of his thoughts and he scowled. ****

**"**Don't you have reports to file?" he grumbled and took a seat at his own desk.****

McNab ducked his head and went back to his work. Lassiter gave him one last look and then settled in to writing his own report on the arson case the Spencers had helped solve.****

Lassiter didn't like having to work with the Spencers. No he took that back. He didn't mind working with Juliet; she was smart and a good detective, but he never could figure out why she would throw that all away to work with Shawn Spencer. ****

Despite Lassiter's distaste for working with the private investigators, Mayor Vick was over the moon with their results and hired them on any case Lassiter couldn't solve overnight. It didn't help matters any that Shawn was the son of the former mayor, Henry Spencer, who still had a good amount of clout with the town council. Lassiter frowned; it just annoyed him to no end.****

**"**Sir," McNab's voice broke into Lassiter's thoughts again.****

**"**What?" Lassiter glanced up. He gave an audible groan when he saw Lyin' Ryan Bainsworth standing in the doorway looking expectantly between the two cops.****

**"**Mr. Bainsworth says he has some information for you," Buzz spoke up while Lassiter just continued to glare at Ryan.****

**"**Honestly, Sheriff, this won't take too much of your time," Ryan started talking at his mile a minute pace. "I just came down here to tell you about the crime that I overheard being planned."****

Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Bainsworth, I assure you, no crime is going to be committed. Just like the assassination attempt on McNab last year and the lawn mower theft last week."****

**"**No, this time it's real!" Ryan protested, holding up his hands as Lassiter stood to escort him from the building. "I have proof!"****

**"**What's the proof, then?" Lassiter asked.****

**"**I was outside of town and I saw a man with a gun and then I heard him arguing and then he said that 'they needed to end this' and then I ran," Ryan told him solemnly. ****

**"**That's your proof?" Lassiter looked at him in disbelief.****

**"**I know it sounds fake, but it was real, I swear!" Ryan pleaded. "You have to believe me."****

**"**Over the past year, you've sent me on thirty-two separate wild goose chases and none of them turned out to be actual crimes," Lassiter reminded him. "Forgive me for not believing you on this one."****

**"**Then what am I supposed to do about what I heard?" Ryan asked, looking sad.****

**"**There's a private detective agency in town," Lassiter informed him. "Take it up with the Spencers."****

McNab gave Ryan a reassuring look and led him out of the station. When he returned, Lassiter was back to working on his reports.****

**"**Are you sure sending him to the Spencers was a good idea?" Buzz asked.****

**"**Juliet is smart," Lassiter muttered, "not smart enough to avoid marrying that charlatan, but smart enough to turn a nut like Bainsworth away."****

OoO OoO OoO****

Juliet was smart; she was smart enough to know that clients paid good money for their services and even if Ryan only paid them the upfront charges, they would be able to pay some of their bills. That didn't mean she believed him.****

**"**Where did you say you were when you heard these threats?" Juliet asked after Ryan relayed his story.****

**"**Just north of Big Joe's Burgers. I stopped there and got a burger and fries with an extra-large coke. They put something on their fries that just makes you extra parched." He gave Shawn a serious look.****

**"**I know; it's like they make them extra salty to drive their beverage business," Shawn agreed.****

**"**The only thing past Big Joe's is the Muscum Falls Motel." Juliet brought their attention back to the case.****

**"**Yes! I stopped at the motel for a break on my drive yesterday!" Ryan looked between the Spencers joyfully. "What's our next step?"****

**"**We go check out the scene," Shawn grinned and grabbed his keys, heading for the door.****

OoO OoO OoO****

Muscum Falls had only one place for visitors to stay. The Muscum Falls Motel wasn't technically in the town limits, but it was better than parking at the truck stop and hoping you weren't attacked by raccoons. ****

Ryan led the Spencers around to the back of the motel to a set of bushes. "It was right here. This is where I heard them," he pointed to a trampled spot.****

**"**Ryan, what were you doing in the bushes?" Shawn had been wondering what the compulsive liar had been doing all the way out here, but the bushes part really threw him.****

**"**Well, with the extra-large coke I had to," he glanced at Juliet and then leaned in and whispered to Shawn, "I had to relieve myself." He gave a meaningful glance to the ground. Juliet's eyes went wide and she wrinkled her nose as she stepped off to the side.****

**"**This is where you heard the threats?" Shawn asked, glancing around. He couldn't see a lot through the bushes, just a couple of rooms at the motel.****

**"**Right through there," Ryan pointed towards the motel. "I mean, it was dark so I couldn't really see who it was, but I thought someone was holding a gun."**  
****  
**As if on cue, the door to the motel room swung open and Shawn narrowed his eyes trying to see who would come out.****

Juliet pushed a branch out of her line of sight. She gasped when they saw a man and woman leave the room. The woman was Jessica Miller, the current owner of the museum. The man was her security guard, Mark Wilkens, but Jessica wasn't married and Mark was married to his wife Laurie.****

**"**Maybe they're just having a business meeting," Shawn whispered, just as Mark and Jessica shared a passionate kiss. Shawn reached over to shield Juliet's eyes from it. "So, not a business meeting," he concluded.****

Juliet pulled his hands away, "there's nothing we can do about that. Looks like it wasn't a death threat after all, Ryan."****

**"**Just a troubled woman seeking solace in the arms of a man she shouldn't," Shawn agreed. He glanced at his watch. "Well, this wasn't a total bust; we can swing by Big Joe's for lunch."****

OoO OoO OoO****

**"**Lassie!" Shawn called the sheriff's name out in sing-song as he and Juliet strode into the station later that afternoon.****

Lassiter rolled his eyes and looked up from his report, narrowing his eyes as he saw a large styrofoam cup in the private detective's hand and then frowning when he saw that Spencer's other hand was clasped with Juliet's. "What do you want, Spencer?" he growled.****

**"**We just wanted to keep you up to date on that case you sent our way," Shawn replied, grinning and taking a sip of his coke. He took a seat in the chairs in front of the sheriff's desk.****

**"**You listened to that lunatic?" Lassiter gave Juliet a look of disbelief.****

**"**We have bills to pay, too, Carlton," she told him firmly, putting a hand on Shawn's shoulder.****

**"**What forsaken place did Bainsworth drag you out to this time?" Lassiter asked, avoiding her cool gaze.****

**"**He didn't drag us anywhere," Shawn protested. "His tips took us out to the motel."****

**"**Sweet Justice," Lassiter murmured under his breath and rubbed his temples to ward off the headache he could feel growing in the base of his skull.****

**"**Where we found an illicit affair!" Shawn ignored Lassiter's mutterings.****

**"**An affair?" Lassiter repeated, shaking his head. "Spencer, although affairs can lead to divorce and alimony payments, I can't arrest someone for being unfaithful." He grabbed his reports off his desk and headed for the filing cabinet. "Which means I never would have investigated Bainsworth's 'case' in the first place."****

**"**He's just jealous," Shawn whispered to Juliet. ****

**"**Right, Spencer," Lassiter rolled his eyes, "I'm jealous that you ran around at the advice of a pathological liar and wasted your time coming down here to gloat." He stacked his files together and then gave Juliet a smile. "Now excuse me; I have sheriff duties to attend to."****

**"**Someday, Lassie," Shawn called after him as he headed for the filing cabinets. "Someday you're going to believe Ryan!"****

OoO OoO OoO****

Ken was whistling softly as he headed across the foggy parking lot early Thursday morning. It was just after six and Ken was making sure that all the carts had been collected the night before and that there wasn't any trash lying around. His boss, Burton Guster was adamant that his parking lot be spotless. Guster's was the local grocery store; in fact it was the only grocery store for fifty miles.****

There was a lone shopping cart that a lazy shopper had left by a cluster of trees. Ken shook his head at the fact the person couldn't be bothered to return the cart to a cart corral just one line of parking spaces over. As he got closer he noticed there was someone propped up against the trees.****

**"**Excuse me," Ken called out tentatively. "Excuse me, the store isn't open until seven." There was no response and Ken ventured closer. He squinted, trying to figure out who was leaning against the tree. The person was definitely a man, and he was wearing some kind of uniform. "Sir?" As Ken got closer he could smell alcohol. Great, a drunk, Ken would have to call Sheriff Lassiter and Mr. Guster would be furious.****

Ken reached out to tap the man on the shoulder and that's when he noticed the knife sticking out of the man's chest. The silent morning shrouded in fog was pierced by a girlish scream.


	2. Chapter 2

"People murdered in my own parking lot!" Gus was livid. He was pacing around in circles as Shawn and Juliet tried to calm him down. "I don't do dead people, Shawn," he pointed to where the body was still leaning against the trees. "If I wanted to own a store where people are murdered in my parking lot I would live in Chicago!"****

Juliet looked over at Shawn, Gus had called them in a panic after hearing from Ken. The couple had made it to Guster's before Sheriff Lassiter. Something Carlton was going to be extremely unhappy about.****

**"**Buddy," Shawn held out his hands, trying to placate his friend. "It will be okay."****

**"**Don't buddy me, Shawn," Gus stopped pacing back and forth and pointed threatening at him. "Do you know when the last murder in town was? 1958, and that was because a banker cheated in a poker game."****

**"**I'll take random facts I don't care about for $1200, Alex," Shawn pretended to buzz in. ****

**"**I should have known you two would try to horn in on my case," Lassiter snapped, joining the trio. His jacket collar was turned up against the chilly morning air and he looked more irritated than usual.****

**"**Technically, this is our case," Shawn pointed out.****

**"**How is this your case?" Lassiter raised an eyebrow and gave Juliet a confused look.****

**"**You sent Ryan Bainsworth to us," she shrugged.****

**"**You're saying Lyin' Ryan killed that man?" Lassiter pointed to the body on the ground.****

**"**Please, Lassie, it's not like he's confessing to murder," Shawn laughed.****

**"**This time," Lassiter muttered.****

Juliet continued, ignoring the sheriff's comment, "Ryan Bainsworth came to us with a tip that revealed an affair. Half of this affair is now dead in the parking lot of Guster's."****

**"**Mark Wilkens was having an affair?" Lassiter wasn't sure he believed this story any more than Lyin' Ryan's version.****

**"**Maybe instead of asking us all these questions, you should be talking to Jessica Miller, who was last seen at the Muscum Falls Motel, lip locked with the dead guy." Shawn crossed his arms.****

Buzz ran over, notebook in hand. "Sheriff, I called Laurie Wilkens, she's going to meet us at the station to ID the body and Dr. Strode said he was an hour away when I called him," he relayed his information. "Oh, and we'll have to call up a forensics team from Grand Rapids."**  
****  
**Lassiter made a face at the mention of a big city forensics team. "Call Woody back and tell him I want him here ASAP. Then take statements from Guster and the cart boy and find out where Wilkens was before he was here."****

McNab nodded, and led Gus off to the side to record statements.****

Shawn raised his hand, waving it around to attract attention. "I know where Wilkens was, Lassie! He was at the Muscum Falls Motel."****

Lassiter sighed and glared at the private detective. "Between the motel and the parking lot," he snapped and headed off to look over the body.****

**"**You offer simple advice," Shawn shook his head.****

Juliet pulled on his arm, "Shawn, I think we should go find Ryan and see if there's anything else he remembers from Mark and Jessica's argument."****

Shawn nodded in agreement. "It might be worth talking to Jessica before Lassie scares the crap out of her." He headed for the car but paused as another car pulled up to the crime scene.****

**"**Is that Mayor Vick?" Juliet asked, staring at the new car.****

**"**Mayor Vick and my dad," Shawn groaned.****

**"**Sheriff!" Vick waved Lassiter over to her as she made her way to the Spencers. ****

**"**Karen, don't worry about this, I'll get this case solved as soon as possible," Lassiter started talking before he had even cleared the crime tape.****

**"**Not if Jules and I solve it first," Shawn challenged.****

**"**Don't make me kick you and your wife out of my crime scene," Lassiter threatened, stepping closer to the private detective.****

**"**We'll solve it without even being at the crime scene," Shawn retorted, taking another step closer to the sheriff.****

**"**Can it, both of you," Henry Spencer snapped.****

**"**Why are you here?" Shawn asked his dad.****

**"**This is the first homicide Muscum Falls has seen in two generations," Henry Spencer put up his hand to stop Lassiter and Shawn from arguing further. "The doctor will be here soon to do an autopsy, and hopefully we can put a rush on getting our results from the lab in Grand Rapids."**  
****  
****"**I want all three of you to work together," Vick looked between her Sheriff and the two consultants. "The Spencers have a great track record and three heads are better than one. Lassiter, I expect you to keep me updated, and Mr. Spencer," she turned to Shawn, "I expect you to follow proper procedure. Don't think I don't know what happened with the arsonist." She gave him a knowing look and then headed for the small gathering of press that were clamoring for a statement.****

Henry gave Shawn the same knowing look and followed after her.****

**"**Just stay out of my way, you two," Lassiter growled, purposefully bumping into Shawn's shoulder as he went to check on McNab.****

**"**Touchy," Shawn muttered, rubbing his shoulder.****

**"**Shawn, this is a pretty big case, a lot bigger than an arsonist," Juliet reasoned.****

**"**Exactly, which is why we need to start finding out more about Jessica and Mark's affair. Let's start with the motel. Lassie will have Laurie Wilkens covered, but I'm more interested in what the motel owner might be able to tell us. Besides, Lassie will be stuck here until the forensics team gets in," he checked his watch, "which won't be for another hour."****

OoO OoO OoO****

After a pit stop to pick up Ryan, the Spencers were pulling into the parking lot of the Muscum Falls Motel.****

**"**Mark Wilkens was murdered?" Ryan asked for the hundredth time since they'd left town. "Was he shot? Because I saw them with a gun, and they were arguing."****

**"**He was stabbed," Shawn explained, just like he had every other time Ryan had asked about the murder weapon.****

**"**Here's the thing," Juliet was thinking out loud as they headed for the motel office. "Jessica and Mark looked pretty cozy yesterday, not like they were thinking about ending things."****

**"**Maybe the motel owner will have a different story," Shawn pushed open the door. The management office was just as cramped and rundown as the rest of the motel. A bell dinged above the door and presently the motel owner, Hank Walker, came out to the counter.****

**"**Hank, I'm sure you remember me," Shawn waved.****

Hank narrowed his eyes. "I know who you are. You go around sticking your nose into other people's business."****

Juliet stepped in to try and smooth things over. "We're here to ask you some questions about Mark Wilkens."**  
****  
****"**What about Wilkens?" The manager crossed his arms.****

**"**We know that he and Jessica Miller were using your motel as a hideout for their illicit affair," Shawn blurted out.****

**"**Do we still consider making out to be illicit?" Ryan asked, puzzled. "I mean, there wasn't a lot of skin, and the kiss was pretty tame compared to what you see on television these days."****

**"**The point is," Juliet cut Ryan off, "your motel doesn't see a lot of traffic and two people from in town would have sparked your interest."****

Hank rolled his eyes. "Ever since that fancy chain place went up thirty miles closer to Chicago, people think it's the kit and kaboodle."****

**"**True story, I was in a grunge band with two women named Kit and Kaboodle in college," Ryan piped up.****

Hank ignored Bainsworth and continued. "So when Jessica Miller said she would pay me triple the room rate to keep it hush-hush, I agreed."****

**"**Did Mrs. Wilkens ever find out about things?" Shawn asked.****

**"**Laurie stopped by last week, asking questions, crying her eyes out and I denied everything." Hank held up his hands. "Though, if you ask me, Mark and Jessica were going to end it soon; they had a big fight on Tuesday night. I thought I was going to have to call Sheriff Lassiter over it."****

**"**Would that have been around eight o'clock?" Shawn recalled the timeline from Ryan's story.****

Hank nodded. "Just around then. I remember because the new episode of the Mentalist was on and I don't have one of those new fangled DVRs, so I was going to miss the episode if I had to call the cops."****

**"**Thank you for your information," Juliet gave Hank a smile. "If there's anything else you happen to think of, give us a call." She handed him a business card.****

**"**Will do, and if you see Jessica, let her know that she still owes me for next week's room. Cash, in advance, just like normal," Hank nodded.****

Shawn was thinking as they headed back to the car. "If Jessica was planning on ending the affair, then why would she have already planned to pay Hank?"****

**"**If Laurie was on to him around, maybe it was Mark that wanted to end the affair," Juliet mused. "We should head back to town and see if the autopsy had been done yet."****

OoO OoO OoO****

**"**Thank you, Laurie, and you have our condolences," Buzz murmured as he ushered Muscum Falls' newest widow out the door of Dr. Strode's office.****

Lassiter watched her leave. She had tearfully identified the body as that of her husband, although, Lassiter reflected, that was more a formality than anything else because of how small the town was. Now that the body had been positively ID'd, Woodward Strode, the town doctor, could start his preliminary autopsy.****

Lassiter managed to wait quietly for fifteen minutes, then started tapping his foot impatiently as he stared at the door to the autopsy room. A makeshift morgue had been set up in the back of the doctor's office. Muscum Falls rarely dealt with a dead body; usually the locals died at the hospital or of natural causes that had their bodies delivered to the funeral home. It was typically the flu, or old age, or anything that didn't require a police investigation.****

McNab was standing next to him sipping coffee. "Do you think Dr. Strode will be long?" He asked. "Not that I want to rush him or anything, I've just never been part of an autopsy."****

**"**If he doesn't call us in the next three seconds, you'll be able to observe a second one," Lassiter growled.****

As if on cue, the door opened and Woody Strode waved the two cops into the backroom.****

**"**Curious case," Woody commented, pulling out a chart. "Not as curious as Benjamin Button, but damn near."****

**"**Just give us the rundown," Lassiter motioned for the doctor to speed things up.****

**"**Oh, I will," Woody nodded. "But first, have you tried the coffee at the corner store lately? I have tried coffee at all the towns around here and I must say I think Muscum Falls takes the cake."****

**"**Ms. Vicellio is a wonderful coffee brewer," McNab chimed in, giving Lassiter a knowing nudge.****

**"**We can all have as much coffee as we want, as soon as you tell me how Mark Wilkens died." Lassiter gave the deputy a warning look.****

**"**Right, Mr. Wilkens, passed on between one and two-thirty this morning. He died of a knife wound," Woody pointed to the whole in Wilkens' chest. "I retrieved the knife and the Grand Rapids team dusted for prints. There were a couple, so they were hopeful that we could find a possible murderer that way."****

**"**Is there anything else? Anything more unique?" Lassiter was using the coroner's magnifying glass to examine the wound.****

**"**The knife was pretty old," Woody handed him pictures of the weapon. "If he hadn't died from the stabbing, then he would have died from blood poisoning and probably syphilis."****

**"**Mark Wilkens had an STD?" Lassiter looked at the coroner like he was insane.****

**"**Wilkens? No," Woody shook his head, "no, no, no, but everyone else in the 19th century did, so he probably would have caught it from the knife." Woody held out a folder. "I made copies of my notes for you."****

**"**If anything else comes up, give me a call." Lassiter took the folder and glanced at it before handing it over to his deputy. "McNab, where are we on tracking down Jessica Miller?" He motioned for the younger man to follow him out the door.****

**"**She was out at the museum when we called her; she said she'd be down as soon as possible and Mr. Guster is supposed to be here with the security footage from the parking lot before three." McNab hurried to keep up with the sheriff's determined strides.****

**"**Call Guster and tell him to hurry it up," Lassiter snapped, shoving the file folder into McNab's hands. "Now c'mon, I need some coffee before we interview Jessica Miller."****

OoO OoO OoO****

Lassiter had his hand on the door handle to the corner store when Spencer's voice called out his name.****

**"**Lassisippi!" Shawn shouted from half a block away. "Don't you want to know what Juliet and I discovered?"****

Lassiter took a deep breath to try and alleviate some of the irritation he automatically felt anytime that Spencer spoke. Then he turned and glared at the couple as they crossed the street to talk to him. "What? What did you discover?"****

**"**Ryan Bainsworth was right," Juliet explained. "Hank Walker told us that Jessica Miller has been paying him for months to keep quiet about an affair she was having with Mark Wilkens."****

**"**Juliet, did you not hear me yesterday? I can't arrest Jessica Miller for having an affair." Lassiter rolled his eyes.****

**"**But you could ask her why the murder weapon was a two hundred year old knife," Shawn pointed out. ****

Lassiter turned his attention him and saw Spencer flipping through the autopsy report. "Where did you get that?" Lassiter glared at McNab, who shrugged apologetically.****

**"**Mayor Vick said we were working together," Buzz shrugged again.****

Lassiter reached for to door again but this time was interrupted by Guster.**  
****  
****"**Here's the security tape from this morning." Gus handed the tape over to the sheriff. "It's from close last night until 6:30 this morning."****

**"**Looks like coffee will have to wait, Lassie," Shawn was still looking at Woody's report.****

Lassiter gave one last hopeful look at the door, sighed in resignation, and then stalked off towards the station.


	3. Chapter 3

Lassiter popped in the security tape while McNab brewed a pot of coffee on the station's machine.****

Shawn, Juliet, Gus and Lassiter gathered close to the small television set and watched the incredibly boring tape.****

**"**Seriously, it's like nothing happens in this town," Shawn whispered to his wife.****

Juliet nodded in agreement, but shushed him.****

Lassiter ignored them but hit the fast forward button on the remote.****

Shawn watched the clock in the bottom right corner of the screen tick by the hours. The parking lot didn't change except for the shadows of the trees as the moon moved across the sky, until the clock hit 3:04 in the morning. A dark colored vehicle pulled into the parking lot, blocking the median where Mark had been found. ****

Lassiter leaned forward in his chair, focused on the car.****

**"**Is that a minivan?" Juliet asked.****

**"**It's either a minivan or a hotdog," Shawn had his head turned to the side. "The video is a little grainy,"****

**"**For once I agree with you," Lassiter accepted a cup of coffee from McNab. "You should probably invest in a better security system, Guster."****

**"**Well excuse me!" Gus said indignantly. "I wasn't planning on having to catch murderers with my cameras."****

The van in the video pulled away and Lassiter paused the video again. He squinted and could barely make out the dark blob leaning against a tree where Wilkens had been.****

**"**Looks like that was our drop," he said, sitting back in his chair. "The timeline fits with Woody's TOD."****

**"**Great, so we know that a dark shadowy figure, driving a hot dog dropped off the body," Shawn grinned. "So, either we need to arrest Oscar Meyer or do a little bit more detective work."****

**"**Oscar Meyer is baloney, Shawn," Gus frowned.****

**"**You're baloney," Shawn challenged.****

**"**It'll take days to get any results back from Grand Rapids," Juliet was thinking out loud.****

Lassiter nodded in agreement. "All we have to work with is the knife Wilkens was stabbed with and the word of a compulsive liar about his whereabouts the day before."****

**"**Those whereabouts and the age of the knife both point to Jessica Miller," Juliet mused.****

**"**We'll be clearing that up any minute now," Lassiter stood and looked towards the front door. ****

Shawn and Juliet turned to see a woman talking with McNab. She seemed upset, but wasn't crying her eyes out.****

**"**Jessica Miller," Gus murmured appreciatively.****

Shawn raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Dude, she was having an affair with Mark Wilkens. The man grew a beard for a hobby."****

**"**You two stay out of my interrogation," Lassiter reminded the private investigators and then left to talk with Jessica.****

**"**If he wants us to stay out of his interrogation, then we'll just have to start our own interrogation," Shawn told Juliet.****

**"**You two do that; I've got to go and make sure Ken isn't trying to clear his mind by eating all the donuts at the store," Gus straightened his collar and smoothed down his shirt. He gave the Spencers a wink and a head nod and then left, not before first consoling Jessica with a pat on the arm.****

**"**Has he no shame?" Shawn tsked, shaking his head.****

**"**Of course he doesn't," Juliet leaned her head on his shoulder. "Now what's our next move?"****

Shawn squeezed her hand. "What do you think?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.****

**"**We talk to the widow," Juliet grinned.****

**"**Exactamundo," Shawn laughed. "Talk to Laurie Wilkens and then do some follow up with Jessica after Lassie takes a crack at her."****

**"**I knew I married you for a reason," Juliet teased as they headed for the car.****

**"**I thought it was because I have a great head of hair and a dry wit," Shawn looked offended as he pulled out into traffic.****

**"**That too," Juliet murmured.****

OoO OoO OoO**  
****  
****"**Mark is dead and you brought me down here, why?" Jessica Miller didn't look happy to be sitting across from Lassiter in the interrogation room.****

**"**We're just establishing a timeline for everyone who might have talked with Mr. Wilkens yesterday," Lassiter kept things general; he would get to specific accusations later.****

**"**What makes you think I saw Mark yesterday?" Jessica crossed her arms defensively.****

Buzz frowned and spoke up from where he was standing near the door. "He worked for you," he pointed out.****

Lassiter shot a glare over his shoulder at the deputy and then turned back to Jessica. "We have reliable witnesses that say they saw you and Wilkens together at the Muscum Falls Motel."****

Jessica was silent just long enough to confirm Lassiter's statement. ****

**"**You're seen kissing a man and twelve hours later he ends up dead in the parking lot of Guster's," Lassiter continued. "We'll need to get a statement of where you were and who you were with between the hours of ten last night and three this morning."****

Jessica gave a shocked look to both Lassiter and McNab. "You don't think that I had anything to do with this? Mark and I were ending the affair. I'm moving to California in three weeks."****

**"**What about the museum?" McNab asked.****

**"**Haven't you read the paper?" Jessica pulled a kleenex out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes. "I'm selling that place. Time to get out of Muscum Falls."****

**"**We're going to need the name of the person you're selling the museum to," Lassiter pushed a piece of paper across the table, "and we're still waiting on that alibi."****

OoO OoO OoO****

Laurie Wilkens cautiously opened the door after Shawn had rung the doorbell.****

**"**Mrs. Wilkens," Juliet put on a comforting smile. "It's us, the Spencers."****

**"**If the church sent you down with dinner, don't worry I have enough," Laurie whispered, and started to close the door again.****

**"**Actually, Laurie," Shawn put his hand out to stop the door. "Juliet and I are working with Sheriff Lassiter, we just want to ask you a few questions."****

Laurie swallowed and then let Shawn push the door the rest of the way open. "My mother always said I would make headlines someday, but I don't think this is what she meant." She burst into tears again.****

Immediately Juliet was at her side, helping her sit on the couch and offering her a kleenex.****

**"**Mrs. Wilkens, Laurie, I know these questions might be hard, but they need to be asked." Shawn sat down on the chair across from her.****

**"**I know you're going to ask about Jessica," Laurie blew her nose and took a few moments to steady herself. "Hank swore up and down they weren't staying at the motel, but I know they were."****

**"**Did you ever confront Mark about the affair?" Juliet asked quietly.****

**"**N-never," Laurie stuttered. "I was going to ask him, but then Jessica announced she was selling the museum to the Fletchers."****

**"**Amos and Meg?" Shawn raised an eyebrow. Amos and Meg Fletcher were the newest residents to Muscum Falls. They were an older retired couple that had decided to move away from the big city. They were nice people, but Shawn hadn't considered that they would be interested in owning the rundown Muscum falls museum.****

**"**Yes, they were taking ownership in a few weeks and Jessica was leaving so I figured that would be that." Laurie sniffled again. "Mark was worried he wouldn't have a job after the switch. He and Amos never really got along."****

**"**What was he going to do if that happened?" Juliet prompted Laurie to continue.****

**"**Well, he was selling some things on ebay." Laurie was overcome with sobs again.****

**"**Is there any chance I could take a look at his computer?" Shawn asked hopefully, ignoring the glare Juliet was giving him.****

**"**Do you think it will help figure out who killed him?" Laurie looked up at Shawn.****

**"**It couldn't hurt," Shawn told her.****

Laurie showed Shawn and Juliet where Mark's office was. "I'm sorry I don't know any of his passwords." She looked sadly at the surrounding pictures.****

**"**Laurie, I think we handle this by ourselves. Why don't you make yourself a cup of tea," Juliet gave the woman a reassuring smile.****

Laurie returned the smile and nodded. "Tea sounds good," she gave one last look at the pictures on the wall and then left.****

As soon as Shawn heard the water running in the kitchen, he quickly brought up a web page on the computer. ****

**"**How are you going to crack his password?" Juliet asked quietly.****

**"**I don't have to," Shawn replied, typing fast. "There are less than 1000 people in Muscum Falls and how many of them are selling things on ebay." He narrowed down the field by zip code and scrolled through the twelve listings all from the same account.****

**"**MWilk is probably him," Juliet reasoned.****

Shawn pulled out his cell phone and took a quick picture of the list. "I don't know who buys this kind of stuff, but it seems a little odd that Mark was selling old maps, books and other things you might find in a museum."****

**"**Especially with a change of ownership about to happen," Juliet agreed. "We should go see if Lassiter found anything out from Jessica."****

**"**Or," Shawn gave her a sideways look. "We get a jump start on talking to the Fletchers and then meet up with Lassie and trade info." ****

Juliet raised an eyebrow at him. "Going behind Lassiter's back?"****

**"**It's what we do best," Shawn reminded her. ****

**"**No, that's what you and Gus did best," Juliet sighed. "We'll drive to the Fletchers', but I'm calling Carlton and finding out what his next move is."****

**"**You sure know how to sweet talk me," Shawn gave her a kiss and then headed for the door.****

With another round of condolences to Laurie, the duo was on the road again.


	4. Chapter 4

"I mean it, Juliet, you and that husband of yours had better be careful," Lassiter snapped into his phone as he slammed the door on the sheriffs jeep shut. He and McNab had just arrived at the Fletchers. "Remember what Karen said," he paused as he rounded the corner of the house. Both Spencers were there. Juliet was standing off to the side, talking on her phone.

"Lassie!" Shawn looked over from where he had been swapping brownie recipes with Meg.

"Spencer, what did I just say about this being my investigation?" Lassiter hurried over to him.

Shawn paused and thought for a moment. "That it was yours, but then the mayor said that Juliet and I should help, so that got me really confused."

Lassiter rolled his eyes and looked to Juliet for some support.

"We had a lead and we took it," she shrugged.

"Shame about the murder," Amos Fletcher spoke up. "I mean, it saves me the trouble of firing him, but still a shame."

"Amos!" Meg chided her husband. "Would you like some lemonade and cookies, Sheriff?" She held out a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a cup to Lassiter.

Lassiter begrudgingly took a cookie, sneaking bites when he thought that no one would notice. "Why were you going to fire Wilkens?"

Amos shrugged, "there was something off about him. Sneaky like."

"Sneaky," Shawn echoed, thinking back to the list of antiques on Mark's ebay account. "Sneaky as if he were taking things from the museum?"

"How did you know about that?" Meg almost dropped the plate of cookies she was handing to McNab.

"So there were things missing?" Juliet raised an eyebrow.

"We hired a service from Detroit to come out and inventory the museum," Amos elaborated. "With the price Jessica was selling it for, it seemed like a good idea."

"What did the service find?" Juliet smacked Shawn's hand away as he reached for his fourth cookie.

"That there were quite a few things missing from the place," Amos sighed. "Nothing big, just a few small things here and there."

"Did you talk to Jessica about it?" Lassiter asked.

"I mentioned it in passing," Amos shrugged, "but she seemed shocked and even told me I was lying to her."

"Amos doesn't lie," Meg shook her head emphatically. "Oh, that woman drives me up the wall." She set the cookie plate down on the table with enough force to knock the cookies onto the ground.

Shawn looked sadly at the cookies, but a nudge from Juliet brought him back to the present.

"Were the things missing from the museum swords, newspapers and a Civil War era suit?" Shawn thought back to Mark's ebay listings.

Amos gave him a weird look. "No... just small things, buttons and coins, a couple of pictures."

Shawn and Juliet shared a look. Not what Mark had been selling.

"Do you think Mark might have taken them?" Buzz looked between Meg and Amos.

"He was a pain in the ass, but he wasn't a liar." Amos begrudgingly admitted.

"Who the hell would have access to the museum?" Lassiter frowned at the idea that someone would go out of their way to break in.

"There's those boys," Meg nudged her husband's arm. "What were their names?"

"Kyle... and Ben," Amos thought hard. "They go to school in Marquette."

"So they're at school," Buzz's shoulders slumped. "So much for that lead."

"Isn't it Spring Break?" Juliet glanced over at Lassiter.

"Yes it is," Lassiter pulled out his cell phone. He walked away to make a call. "You two," he pointed to the Spencer's on the way to his car. "Stay out of my case."

Buzz hurried after the sheriff after thanking Meg for the lemonade and cookies.

Shawn looked over at Juliet. "It's like he doesn't even know us."

"The only Kyle in town is Kyle Fields." Juliet gave Shawn a smile. "I used to babysit for them."

"Kyle Fields..." Shawn thought for a minute. "Didn't he get in trouble with Lassie for using his minivan for the senior prank last year?"

"Yeah, he welded it to the flagpole," Juliet paused, "his green minivan."

"Text Lassie, I don't need him cramping our style again," Shawn headed for the Fields' Farm.

OoOOoOOoOOoO

Lassiter got Juliet's text just as he was having McNab look up Ben and Kyle on the station's computers. Thanks to the small population, Muscum Falls was far down on the list for technical upgrades and he was tapping his foot, impatiently waiting for the results to come up.

"Crap on a cracker," he growled looking at his phone. "The Spencer's found Kyle and according to Juliet the kid drives a green minivan. Put an APB out on the van and make that thing go faster." He snapped at McNab.

Buzz didn't bother reminding Lassiter that an APB would be pointless since they were literally the only two people employed by the department.

"Sounds like you've had a rough day," Marlowe Vicellio's voice carried across the room.

Lassiter's frown immediately softened and he looked up to smile at the woman standing at the doorway, holding a cup of coffee.

"I thought you could use this," she offered him the cup.

"Thanks," Lassiter crossed the room and took the coffee. He took a tentative sip.

"Three creams, four sugars, just how you like it, Lover." Marlowe leaned closer and kissed Lassiter on the cheek.

The sheriff flushed, "Baby, what did I say about station kisses." His voice was barely a murmur.

"That was hardly a kiss," Marlowe raised an eyebrow at him. "This is a kiss." She leaned in and kissed him, running a hand through his hair and down his neck.

Lassiter was all too happy to return the favor and when his free hand went from Marlowe's waist to her hip, McNab coughed awkwardly to remind them that he was also in the room.

"Right," Lassiter backed away from Marlowe and turned to glare at McNab. "What did you find?"

Marlowe winked at McNab. "I'll let you solve the case, see you tonight." She squeezed Lassiter's hand and then headed out the door.

"She sure is nice," McNab gave Lassiter a knowing look.

"Eyes to yourself, McNab," Lassiter growled. "Now did you find out who Ben is?"

"Ben Garrison's parents live out about a mile past Guster's." McNab handed Lassiter the address. "I figured since the Spencer's were going to the Fields' Farm we could take the Garrison's."

OoOOoOOoOOoO

"The boys went up to hike at the falls," Mrs. Fields gave Shawn and Juliet a worried look. "Are they in any kind of danger?"

"No, ma'am, we're just wanting to ask them some questions." Shawn gave her a reassuring smile. "If they come back can you have them give us a call?" He handed her one of the Spencer and Spencer business cards.

"I sure will," Mrs. Fields gave them a smile. "You two are just too cute with your investigating."

Once the front door was shut, Shawn turned to Juliet. "Please tell me I don't have to convince you to go up to the falls and find Ben and Kyle."

"You don't have to convince me," Juliet told him. "I even know a shortcut."

Shawn tossed her the keys to their car. "This is why you rock, babe!"

OoOOoOOoOOoO

The short trip out to the Garrison's had been a bust; no one was home. Lassiter hadn't been able to reach either Spencer on their cell phones. That probably meant that they were on the outskirts of town, out of range, but Lassiter didn't know where and didn't want to go chasing after the couple.

He was just about to dial Juliet's number again when the station doors opened and four people came walking over to his desk.

"Lassie, look who we ran into," Shawn beamed.

The Spencers were accompanied by two college age boys. All four of them were covered in mud from head to toe and the boys didn't look happy at all.

"McNab, take Kyle and Ben to interrogation A and be sure to put some newspaper on the chairs." Lassiter snapped. He waited until the boys were out of earshot to turn on the Spencers. "What the hell happened to you?" He left it as an open question, but his gaze was fixed on Juliet. The normally put together woman was covered in mud from the waist down and had a few streaks of it across her face.

"We ended up chasing the boys through the woods and with all the rain last weekend there was a little bit of mud," Juliet explained.

The door opened again and Gus walked through carrying a bag.

"McNab called and ordered some sandwiches," he explained, holding out the bag to Lassiter. "I charged it to the station's account."

Lassiter eyed the sandwiches and looked like he wanted to refuse them, but his stomach growled loudly at the mention of food.

"You guys have a good lunch," Juliet didn't bother hiding her smirk. "I'm going home to shower and get out of these muddy clothes." She waved and headed for the door.

"Sheriff, those kids are all settled," McNab came back into the room.

"You two stay here, and don't eat my sandwiches." He pointed threateningly at Spencer and headed for the interrogation room.

"Like I would eat a ham and cheese on rye," Shawn rolled his eyes.

"I brought you a peanut butter and jelly anyways," Gus handed Shawn a wrapped sandwich of his own.

"Crunchy?" Shawn raised an eyebrow as he slowly unwrapped the sandwich.

"Crunchy and grape jelly, c'mon son!" Gus seemed offended that Shawn would doubt him.

Shawn smiled and set about eating his sandwich. They could hear the occasional shout from down the hallway; Lassiter was working hard to get a confession out of the boys.

A beeping noise filled the room and Shawn turned to see the station fax machine lit up and printing off something.

"Shawn, don't," Gus knew his friend well enough to know that Shawn was not above looking at Lassiter's faxes.

"What if it's something that Lassie should know while he's interrogating those guys?" Shawn asked.

"What if it's a love letter from Marlowe Vicellio?" Gus countered.

Shawn made a face of disgust. "I'm willing to risk it," he decided and grabbed the paper.

"Dude, you're getting jelly all over that. Lassiter will know you read it." Gus looked around to make sure the sheriff wasn't going to appear out of nowhere.

"He'll know I read it when I tell him, too." Shawn studied the fax. "It's from the lab in Grand Rapids. The knife was from the 1800's, duh, we already knew that."

"Does it say anything about fingerprints?" Gus asked hopefully.

"They were too smudged to get any data from them," Shawn read further on. "But..." He reread the second paragraph. "Whoever stabbed Mark Wilkens used their left hand."

"Only 15% of Americans are left handed."

"Thank you, I'll try to remember that fact next time I'm on Jeopardy." Shawn laughed and then cocked his head to the side as he realized something.

"What?" Gus frowned.

"I just remembered who we talked to today that was left handed." Shawn tossed the report onto Lassiter's desk. "C'mon, no time to wait for Juliet."


End file.
